Svetlana Lukash: Our objective is to ensure all G20 decisions are implemented

Svetlana Lukash, Deputy Chief of Presidential Experts' Directorate and Russian G20 Sherpa, shared her perspective on the achievements of Russia's G20 Presidency and plans for 2014 in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The main achievement of the G20 Presidency, Svetlana Lukash believes, is that under the Russian Presidency new decisions were found in all areas of the G20 activity.

"Raising the issue of investment financing for economic growth was Russia's main contribution in the revision of the G20 agenda. During this year, we have drafted roadmap to facilitate investments, remove barriers for investors and improve the investment climate. Principles for investment financing by institutional investors have been approved. A clear agenda was outlined for next year, according to which countries are expected to implement a set of domestic measures to facilitate private investment, primarily in infrastructure and job creation, which will make economic growth more sustainable," Svetlana Lukash said, adding that Australia has embraced this vision and will make investment its priority during the 2014 Presidency.

According to Svetlana Lukash, the biggest progress was made in implementing the Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth. "The Russian Presidency has forged consensus on a set of measures to spur economic growth in every country, along with mid-term budget strategies for the developed countries. This will enable Australia to elaborate comprehensive growth strategies identified as the main priority area for 2014," she pointed out.

The Russian Sherpa also mentioned that the G20 had extended its standstill agreement on protectionism until end-2016, which is expected to enhance business confidence.

Placing tax-related issues in the G20 agenda and delivering on them, above all - endorsement of the Joint Action Plan on base erosion and profit shifting, was another breakthrough achievement of Russia's Presidency. "Experts say that the world hasn't seen such a consensus on tax policy for a hundred years," Svetlana Lukash said.

In addition, Svetlana Lukash said that the Russian Presidency had promoted an integrated approach to solving the labour issues, seeking to look beyond social protection of employees, which is without precedent. "This year, we agreed that creating jobs must be considered as an economic growth driver which reinvigorates the labour market. Understanding this interplay creates new economic growth drivers," she said.

Furthermore, the G20 is now using the Troika format more effectively. In the Troika format previous, current and forthcoming presidencies coordinate the agenda, operations and decisions, Svetlana Lukash said, adding that the main purpose of the Troika is to ensure that the decisions of previous summits are implemented. "Our Australian partners are already in regular consultation with us and Turkey (the G20 Chair in 2015), andwe hope that the Troika format will facilitate the implementation of the decisions. Russia's current objective is to ensure that the decisions taken in St.Petersburg are implemented," Svetlana Lukash said.

Full version of the interview you can find here (only Russian version)